


Trusting the Triangle

by TheKrystalSakura



Series: Learning to Love a Triangular Demon [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/F, Half-demons, Human Bill Cipher, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Mutual Pining, Post series finale, Slow Burn, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-08 00:35:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12852909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheKrystalSakura/pseuds/TheKrystalSakura
Summary: (Title Subject to Change)Five years after the series' original events, Seventeen-year old Dipper and Mabel Pines have once again returned to the town of Gravity Falls, Oregon. This time, however, a strange teen is also there, living with their Grunkles. After discovering the teen's true identity (that of Bill Cipher, the demon who created nothing but problems in years past), Dipper and Mabel must come to terms with the fact that Bill may not be as bad as he seems.With Demons suddenly swarming Gravity Falls, it's up to the Mystery Twins and the demon they thought they'd killed to protect the town - and the world.





	1. An Old Friend

Summer had returned to Gravity Falls, and Dipper and Mabel had finally come back to visit, having just graduated high school. They had been catching up with old friends for the past five years; but after so long, they needed a break from the “normal” life. They headed to the lake and sighed, catching their breath and relaxing on the bank.

“Everything seems… Normal, now,” Mabel comments, splashing her feet in the water.

“Yeah… But it’s almost too normal,” Dipper responds, “I wish something weird would happen. ‘Normal’ is too strange for my tastes.”

“Well, why don’t we go see what the Grunkles are up to?”

Dipper nods in agreement and the two of them stand and head back into the town. When they reach the Mystery Shack, they smile. Their Grunkles, Stanford and Stanley, pile out of the small cottage, wide smiles on their faces.

Dipper smiles, racing toward them before he stops dead in his tracks.

A blonde boy, about his and Mabel’s age, exits the Mystery Shack, one half of his face covered by long, lopsided bangs. He wore a yellow sweatshirt, black jeans and black-and-white sneakers. He stands off to the side, almost shy. His caramel-colored skin accents his clothes almost elegantly. When he notices that he is being watched, he glances around, his only visible eye almost black with how dark brown his iris was.

Dipper frowns, almost glaring at the mysterious kid as he catches up with his Grunkles. After only a few moments, he breaks away from his family and approaches the mysterious teen, speaking once he got close. “You’re new,” he immediately comments, “I haven’t seen you around here before.”

The boy jumps at the sudden voice, turning to the hat-clad brunette and trying to hide his nerves. “O-Oh, I’m… I-I’m nobody special. You must be Dipper, right? The Stans talk about you and your sister - Mabel? - all the time.”

The brunette nods. “Yeah, that’s me. So you’re staying with our Grunkles, huh? What’s your name?”

The boy fidgets in his spot and looks around nervously. “My name’s um… B-Birch,” he finally stammers out.

Dipper hums and nods. “It’s nice to meet you, Birch. I hope you enjoy your stay in this weird little town,” he says, smiling a bit lopsidedly. “My sister and I are staying here until the end of the summer, so maybe you and I will run into each other a lot.”

“M-Maybe,” Birch stammers, twiddling his fingers. On the middle finger of his left hand, he wore a golden ring with a triangle charm attached to the band. Dipper was about to ask about the piece of jewelry when his sister approaches, beaming.

“Hey, Dipper, who’s the new guy?” she asks.

“Mabel, this is Birch,” Dipper says, “And Birch, this is Mabel, my twin sister.”

“It’s n-nice to meet you, um… M-Mabel.” He moves to reach out a hand, but quickly thinks better of it and retracts it, pulling it close to his chest.

Mabel suddenly turns a bit more serious. “Hey, you don’t need to be shy with me, Birch,” she assures him, “I won’t bite.” She makes small biting motions with her now-straight teeth, smiling as she did.

“N-No, I… I’m like this to everyone,” Birch replies, once again twiddling his thumbs.

The taller twin pauses and smiles again. “Alright, then. If this is just how you are, let me know if I get too intense.” She leans in a little bit, smirking as she turns to look at her brother. “And let me know if Dipper bores you, okay? He’s always droning on about some conspiracy theory.”

Birch glances back to Dipper, smiling a little. “I like conspiracy theories…” he mumbles.

“Then you’ll really like my brother!” Mabel laughs, nudging Dipper’s shoulder. “I’ll leave you two so you can compare notes!” She turns around and heads back to the Grunkles, smiling.

Birch suddenly seems even more shy, almost afraid. He fiddles with his hands, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Dipper, noticing the other’s behavior, hums. “Sorry about Mabel, she’s a ball of energy. That said, I’ll, uh… I’ll leave you be. You seem uncomfortable around me.” He turns to leave, berating himself a bit for not being more welcoming to the other teen.

Birch’s breath hitches and he seems to flinch as the other teen turns around. “I-It’s not you!” he blurts, a bit louder than he’d anticipated. He clamps a hand over his mouth, silencing himself and looking away again.

The other teen turns back around to him. “It’s fine,” he begins, a bit deadpan, “When someone is uncomfortable, the best thing you can do is leave them be and give them some space.” He seems a bit glum, but does his best not to show it.

Birch nods and bites his lip, heading back inside the Mystery Shack. He doesn’t reappear until dinnertime, and when he sees the family gathered around the table happily, he tries his best to sneak in without making a scene or racket.

Dipper, however, notices the other boy enter the room. He pulls the chair beside him out and motions for Birch to sit next to him. The blonde does so quickly, obviously uncomfortable for interrupting the dinner and conversation. Dipper points to the food on the plate in front of Birch, smiling. “Mabel made chicken,” he says, “I hope you like it.”

Birch nods, trying to hide. “I-I will.”

Dinner then continues, passing awkwardly for the two teenage boys. Once Dipper finishes eating and puts his plate in the sink, he heads back up to his room and clambers onto the roof. “Dammit!” he curses to himself, “I’m not good at being… Friendly!” He kicks a pinecone off the roof and scowls. “Way to go, idiot. You really screwed up this time…” A few minutes pass until Dipper hears the front door shut. Looking out into the mid-evening scenery, he notices Birch holding his head and wandering toward the woods. The other flails his arms wildly, adamantly talking to himself. Just before he enters the forest’s dark underbrush, he grabs hold of his ring and throws it onto the ground. Dipper, thinking fast, climbs down the nearest tree and picks up the ring. He holds it tight in his palm and hurries into the forest after the blonde teen. As he ventures into the woods, he can hear faint mutterings ahead of him. After a few moments, a bright light shines through the darkness, and Dipper quietly races toward it.

“What is he doing…?” he asks himself, noticing Birch pacing around.

“Great job back there, ‘Birch’!” the boy begins, smacking himself upside the head, “Now they think you’re just some random new kid that can’t socialize worth a damn! In all my years of going through Hell, this has _got_ to be the worst of it!” He raises his foot and stomps down on a log, which snaps in half on contact and splinters everywhere.

At the sight, Dipper squeaks slightly, doing his best to keep quiet.

Birch doesn’t hear him, though, and flops backward onto some of the splintered wood. “... God, Bill, you’re such an idiot,” he mutters.

“Wait, ‘ _Bill_ ’?” Dipper asks himself. He glances down to the ring in his hand, his pulse suddenly racing. _No,_ he tells himself, _It can’t be him. He’s trapped in a stony prison… This can’t be him._ Distracted by his thoughts, he almost misses when ‘Birch’ gets up and storms off into another part of the woods. However, he catches himself and quickly (and quietly) follows, his heart still pounding his chest and blood rushing in his ears. When Dipper reaches ‘Birch’ again, he notices that the blonde was staring down at the stone embodiment of Bill Cipher, the demon that he, his friends, and his family had defeated those five years ago, back when they’d first visited Gravity Falls.

“ _No way!_ ” he whispers to himself, “It really _is_ him! How did he get out?!” He moves to step closer, only to trip on a tree root and fall flat on his face.

At the noise, ‘Birch’ whips around, hand outstretched and blue flames dancing on his fingertips. His only visible eye glows a bright yellow, until he realizes exactly who’s behind him. At the sight of Dipper, he gasps and retracts his fire-clad hand, quickly putting out the flames and clasping his other hand over his mouth.

Dipper, unfazed by the magic, scowls up at him. “How did you get out?!” he demands, standing up, “I know who you really are, so _tell me, Cipher!_ ”

Bill stares at him, half in shock and half in fear. He sniffles, tears forming in his visible eye and running down his cheek. “I-I’m sorry…” he whispers.

Defeated, the brunette lets out a loud sigh. “Hokay then, started off too aggressive,” he mutters to himself. He sits down on a nearby log and motions for Bill to join him. “Come here and talk to me, please. Make me understand.”

Bill nods and hurries over, sitting next to him and shivering from his tears. “Wh-What do you want to kn- _OW!_ ” He suddenly screams, reaching under his bangs and clutching his face. Tears of blood begin running down Bill’s cheek, hand, and wrist, pouring from his hidden eye.

Dipper jumps at the scream and leaps to his feet at the sight of blood. “What the Hell?!” he gasps. “We need to get help!” He hurries to Bill’s side and moves to pull him to a standing position. “Do you think you can walk?!”

“No! Wait, I- J-Just leave me be! This… This will die down on its own,” he says, pushing the other teen away. Sure enough, after only a few more minutes, the blood stops pouring and it begins to dry, caked onto Bill’s skin.

Dipper, still high-strung and freaked out by the blood, tries to remain calm and reaches to take demon’s blood-free hand. “Let’s go back and get you cleaned up, okay? And… Maybe you could explain some more as we walk?”

“I can, but… I need my ring,” he whispers, pointing to the piece of jewelry in Dipper’s other hand. “If Stanford knows that I took it off, he’ll… He’ll kill me again.”

The brunette nods and hands over the ring. “So the Stans know who you are? And… What does that ring do, anyway?”

Bill glances down as he puts the ring on his bloodied hand. “Yes, the Stans… They brought me back. And the ring seals my powers; prevents me from using them.”

“Why would they revive you, though?” Dipper asks, pulling Bill to a standing position. “I thought they were the ones that wanted you gone in the first place.”

The demon looks away as he stands by the brunette’s side. “Stanley realized who I was, once he regained his memories. He felt guilty killing me, when I was… When I was just a child your age.” He frowns and moves to hold his hidden eye again. He glances over to Dipper, whose mouth is agape in shock as they head back toward town. “Wh-What?”

“You were a _kid_?! I- I thought you were some sort of ageless being!”

Bill lets out a huff. “That’s what happens when your demon father tries to kill you, only for you to live.”

“Wait, what? Your… Your dad’s a demon, and he tried to kill you, but you survived?” He pauses. “... Is that how you became the triangular dream demon that we all grew to… Know?”

“And hate?” he laughs. “Sort of. That was just an alternate form.”

“A form…” Dipper hums, thinking. “So… Are the personalities of your forms different? Because you seem… Shyer, than you used to be.”

Bill shakes his head. “No, this is how I normally am. I just… Kinda lost it, back when I was in my demon form. That, and I’m trying not to be killed again. If I have even a small screw-up...”

“You’ll be fine,” Dipper assures him, “But let’s get you cleaned up. If anybody asks, we can just say you got hurt on a walk.”

Bill nods. “... What else do you want to know?” he asked.

“Anything, really.”

The demon nods, sighing. “... When Stanley realized who I was - a kid - he managed to convince Stanford to revive me.” He frowns. “He created this ring and enchanted it so that when I wear it, my powers are sealed and I can’t use them. I’m… I’m trying to live as a human again.” He looks away. “But I never should have come back.”

Dipper frowns. “Why do you say that?”

“Because everyone who knew me back then will want to kill me.” He clenches his fists and grits his teeth. “I should just die and leave you all to your peaceful lives…”

“No!” the brunette blurts out. “We… May have been a bit quick to judge.” He pauses and frowns. “Look, I’m not a fan of what happened in the past, but I’m willing to let bygones be bygones.”

Bill stares at him, silent for a moment. “... I’ll never understand you.”

“What?”

“After everything I’ve done, you’re going to let it slide because I was a kid who’d lost his mind and was going through puberty?”

Dipper rolls his eyes. “I wasn’t exactly the nicest, either, you know. Besides, I’ve been told ‘when someone’s in pain, don’t make it worse by being mean to them’.”

The blonde looks away. “... I still don’t understand you, but… It’s nice to have you around again.”

“Hey, it’s good to be back.” He pauses for a moment to look around. “We’re almost back to the shack.”

Bill nods and curls in on himself a bit, trying not not to show off too much of his bloodied skin as they sneak into the house. They head for the downstairs bathroom and Dipper grabs a cloth from underneath the sink, wetting it. “Let’s see if we can clean up some of that blood, shall we?” he mutters, taking Bill’s blood-covered hand and wiping the bodily fluid off easily. When he moves to clean the blonde’s face, however, the other shies away.

“I’d… Rather do my face myself,” he whispers, taking the cloth from Dipper’s hand.

“Alright. I’ll turn around.” Dipper turns his back and after a few moments, Bill nudges his shoulder.

“How does it look?”

“Much better.” He smiles and takes the blood-soaked cloth. “But… Doesn’t it hurt? Considering all the blood, it had to be painful.”

“It always hurts. There’s… There’s nothing to fix it.” Bill looks away, frowning. “... I’m going to try and get some sleep.”

“Alright,” Dipper replies with a nod, “I’ll help you to bed. Where do you sleep?”

Bill glances away, nervous again. “... The basement,” he finally admits, shifting his weight uneasily.

“In the lab part?” Dipper asks, reaching out to the try and steady the other teen.

“N-No, th… The other part.”

“Okay. Let’s go, then.” The two boys head down into the basement, Dipper helping Bill down the stairs because of his shaky legs.

The other thanks him and moves to his corner of the dank and musty-smelling basement. A simple cot is laid out for him, extremely thin sheets covering the near-nonexistent mattress. The blonde clambers onto the bed, covers himself in the barely-there - and likely freezing - sheets, and sets his head on the flat pillow. “Thank you, Pine Tree,” he whispers once he gets comfortable, a whimsical smile on his face.

“Uh… Okay, but are you sure you’re okay sleeping like this? I could bring you a better pillow and blanket… Or wait, do you just want to be left alone, because I totally understand-”

“I’ll survive, Dipper,” Bill chuckles as he cut off the other boy’s rambling.

The other sighs. “Alright, if you insist. I’ll see you in the morning, so… Sleep well.” With everything said, Dipper turns and heads up to his own room.


	2. Talks at Midnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill and Dipper have a chat in the Mindscape.

Later in the night, Dipper was fast asleep and dreaming. He noticed that his Mindscape hadn’t changed much over the years, save for the dreams he actually had - if any. Tonight was different, though; in the corner of his peripheral, he noticed a soft yellow glow. He turns to look at it, curious as to what it could be. He sees Bill, still in human form, watching him from behind a tree. The blonde moves to hide himself completely once he realizes he’d been spotted. Dipper rolls his eyes and calls to the other teen, “Hey, come on out. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Slowly, the dream demon moves from his hiding spot and wanders over to the brunette. He still seems to fidget and twiddle his thumbs, almost as if he was nervous being in the familiar scene. Upon inspection, Dipper notices that Bill was lacking his ring. He backs off a bit and regards him with suspicion. “You took off your ring.”

Bill nods, a slight pink color to his cheeks. “I, um… I-I took it off so I could, uh… W-Watch you.”

“And why might that be?”

The blonde looks away, curling in on himself a bit. “... I know it’s not my place, but… I still like you, after everything.”

Dipper hums, frowning. “You always did have an odd fascination with my curiosity… I suppose it’s only fair for me to indulge yours. I just wasn’t expecting to see you here, in my dreams.”

Bill flinches and seems to hold back tears. “I can leave, and never come back, if… If that’s what you want.”

Dipper blinks and frowns more. “Don’t worry about it… It’s honestly nothing but boring in here. I try not to dream too much,” he confesses as he sits on the ground of his Mindscape. He glances over to Bill when he kneels next to him.

“... That’s my fault, right?”

“Not entirely. Even before I met you, I never had great experiences with my own head playing tricks on me. It’s just easier for me not to dream.” He lays back and looks at the all-grey sky. “Besides,” he laughs, “I lack my sister’s imagination, so my dreams were never interesting anyway.”

Bill nods in understanding and curls into a ball, hugging his knees. After only a few moments, an ink-black spot forms below him on the ground, slowly starting to spread through the Mindscape. The blonde doesn’t react, lost in thought, until Dipper sits up and taps him on the shoulder.

“I, uh… I don’t know what it is, but it’s, ah… Spreading.”

Bill blinks himself out of his trance, the black splotch disappearing into his shadow within seconds. “Sorry…” he mumbles, curling in on himself more.

“It’s fine, but… What in the world was that?”

It takes the demon a moment to answer. “... Memories,” he whispers.

“... Not good ones, I’m assuming.”

“No, not really.”

Dipper pats Bill’s back softly. “Anything I can do to help?”

“Not unless you’ve gained the power to travel through time.”

“Oh… Got it.” The brunette frowns and stands up. “Want to go for a walk? Try and get our minds on something else?”

The demon nods and scurries to stand, following the human as they trek into the woods of Dipper’s Mindscape. After a few moments of calm silence, save for the sound of the wind, Dipper speaks.

“So, was there a reason that you decided to check up on me? Or was it just a visit on a whim?”

Bill glances to the ground, still following Dipper. “... I wanted to thank you for not telling Mabel yet. I don’t think she’d be as understanding as you are.”

The brunette hums. “Well, she seems satisfied with the identity you’re using, so there’s no real reason to tell her who you really are.”

“It’s got to be confusing, though. Using my real name in private and… And ‘Birch’ when someone else is in the room.”

“I’m sure we’ll figure it out,” Dipper replies with a smile, “I’m gonna do the best I can to help you.”

“... Okay.” Bill frowns and hugs himself.

“Hey, we’ll be alright. You’ve got to trust me.”

“I-I do trust you!” he blurts.

“Good. You trust me, and… And I trust you.”

Bill nods and sticks to Dipper’s side. They continue to wander in a calm silence until they reach a clearing in the middle of the woods.

“This wasn’t here before…” Dipper mutters.

Suddenly on edge, Bill glances around, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. He only snaps out of his defensive attitude when Dipper pats him on the arm, at which point he turns to the other.

“I wouldn’t worry, y’know. Like I said, my brain plays tricks on me a lot. We can be on alert, but it’s probably nothing.”

Bill nods and tries to relax. They sit in the clearing and survey the area, their backs to each other in order to have eyes in each direction. Nothing seemed wrong, so after about ten minutes, they stand and continued into the woods. Dipper stretches and smiles. “The woods aren’t as dark tonight… Must be good things are on the way.”

“... Good things…?” Bill asks, frowning.

“Yeah… I’ve been a bit anxious lately, and I think this place used to reflect that. But maybe things will look up for a while, y’know? My anxiety comes in waves sometimes, so maybe this is my brain telling me to relax a bit.” He shrugs. “Or maybe it’s because someone else is with me. Who knows?”

Bill frowns softly, his cheeks slightly pink as he buries the lower half of his face into his sweatshirt. “... I’ve had days like that,” he whispers.

“It isn’t fun, is it?” Dipper asks, looking up at the forest canopy. “... For me, I feel stuck for a while and it only occasionally lets up.”

“That happens to me, too…” Bill mutters. “My depression doesn’t let up for months at a time. And when it does, it’s only for a few days.”

Dipper frowns and gently places his hand on Bill’s shoulder. “I’m sorry you have to go through that,” he says.

“It doesn’t matter,” Bill says with a shrug, “I deserve what comes to me.”

“No, you don’t.”

Bill blinks and looks to Dipper, a combination of confused and annoyed.

Dipper continues. “No one deserves to suffer. At least not alone.”

The demon sighs and looks away. “... I wasn’t always alone, Dipper.”

“There was someone who helped you?” he asks. “Do you know where they might be? Maybe we can find them and-”

“No.”

“What? Why?”

“You can’t find her. I know that much.”

“Why not? Who is she?”

Bill frowns, tears starting to fill his eye. “... She’s my sister.” He turns away and hugs himself, trying not to start crying.

Dipper feels his heart sink at the words. “... You had a sister…? I’m sorry, I… I didn’t know.”

Bill clenches his fists, his grip on the sleeves of his sweatshirt tightening. “Nobody knows. Hell, I don’t even know where she is. She might be alive, trapped in the Demon World, with… Him.”

“Who’s ‘him’?” Dipper asks softly.

“... My father.”

The brunette raised his eyebrows. “... Your dad must have a lot of power, huh? Sounds… Scary.”

“Of course he is. He’s the King of Demons.”

Dipper almost trips and falls, just barely managing to catch his balance. “Oh, good God, that’s- That’s terrifying! I can see why you’re scared…” He reaches out and hugs Bill, holding him close. “I’m so sorry…”

Bill, however, blinks at the embrace. “... What are you doing?”

“Trying to give you a hug. It helps to relieve stress and calm people down. I’m sure this is an uncomfortable topic for you.”

Bill frowns softly and slowly returns the hug, tears forming in his eye. “... Thank you. For… For listening.”

“Any time.” Dipper smiles and pulls back. “I’ll always be here for you when you need it.”

“... You shouldn’t say that. Just you being my friend will make you a target.”

He shrugs. “I don’t mind. I know ways to defend myself against supernatural entities.”

Bill laughs and rolls his eye. “Like what, Demon Circles?”

“Yep. And Spirit Seals, too.” He takes a small piece of paper from his pocket, showing it off. “I made this one myself. I’ll be fine.”

Bill chuckles and smiles a little. “Whatever you say, Dipper.”

The aforementioned rolls his eyes before looking back to the Mindscape’s sky. “... It should be daylight, soon. I’ll have to get up.”

“Then I’ll get out of here.” And with that, the blonde disappears with a smile.


	3. Research, Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper entrusts Bill to help him with his paranormal studies.

After Bill disappeared from his dream, Dipper wakes easily and hops out of bed, stretching his arms above his head. He quickly dresses and hurries down to the first floor.  _ I’ll help him,  _ he tells himself,  _ I’ll make everything better for him. _ As his thoughts immediately turn to the demon, the blonde enters the living room from the basement, looking visibly exhausted. Dipper blinks and frowns softly. “Hey, you okay? You look like you were awake all night.”

“Yeah, I’m… I’m fine.” Bill fiddles with his ring, which was back on his finger.

“Would you like some coffee? I was going to make some for myself.”

“Um… No, thank you. Coffee gives me the jitters.”

“Alright… Maybe you should splash your face with cold water. That helps me, sometimes.” He begins to head into the kitchen, noticing Bill run to the bathroom. The blonde returns a few moments later, his face damp from the water. “Feel better?” Dipper asks from his spot at the kitchen table.

“Yes… Thank you.”

“No problem. There are eggs on the counter if you’re hungry. The others went to town for the day, so we’ll be on our own for a while.” Dipper holds up a sticky note that he’d found in the kitchen.

Bill nods and hurries off to the kitchen, returning with the plate of eggs and a fork. He sits at the table and begins to eat, smiling. “These are good, Pine Tree.”

“I’ll let Mabel know, then. She’s probably the one that cooked them, since she’s been getting up at the crack of dawn to prepare for college.”

“... I always thought she’d sleep in until noon,” Bill chuckles to himself before falling silent again. “... I wonder what college would be like for me.”

“You could probably do a lot, to be honest. I bet with your vast knowledge, you could excel in every major.”

“But I’m a demon. I wouldn’t fit anywhere.”

Dipper smiles in response. “You could do online courses, you know. There wouldn’t be much difference between you and a regular college student; there are some  _ really weird _ people there.”

Bill hums. “... Maybe I should do that.”

“I bet you’d do very well. You just need to apply and you’ll be ready to go. I’m doing online courses, myself,” he finishes, setting his now-empty mug down.

“I always saw you as the star student of the college campus.”

“Nah,” Dipper says, shaking his head, “I’m even more asocial than I used to be. Besides, I’m tired of people after high school. They all thought I was crazy.”

“... Was it because of what happened here?” Bill asks with a frown, burying his face into his sweatshirt.

“A little bit. Mostly it was because of my paranormal research that I did,” he replies with a laugh as he takes his empty plate to the kitchen. “They thought I was crazy or haunted.”

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s not your fault. I took my research a little too seriously and… Probably made my situation worse, honestly. But those kids hated me anyway, so no love lost there.” He glances down to the mirror-like sink, staring his reflection in the eyes.

“... Would you show me your research?”

At the words, Dipper looks back to Bill. “My research?”

“Yes. I’d… I’d like to see what you’ve found. Even help you, if I can; tell you what’s right and fix what’s not.”

Dipper blinks, surprised. “Uh… Okay. Give me a minute…” He goes upstairs and returns a few minutes later with a thick file, filled with papers that he’s scribbled his notes on.

The demon whistles softly at the sight. “You weren’t kidding.”

He blushes and looks away, setting the folder down on the table. “Imagine walking through hallways with this thing, and lugging it from class to class. That was me in high school.”

“Let’s see what you’ve got!” Bill says and he sits down, excited. His cheer sets Dipper a little on edge, remembering how he’d wanted to destroy his Grunkle Ford’s journals in his triangular form. The demon doesn’t do that, though; instead, he grabs the pen that was attached to the folder and starts scanning the notes, already adding edits to the first couple of pages.

“The first part is demon history and powers. I found records of as many demons as possible and wrote everything down. Then there’s lycanthropy, followed by vampirism. The section you’re on is-”

“Demon history,” Bill says, cutting off the brunette, “This is my best area of expertise.” He seems to zone out a bit as he continues to write.

Dipper hums and watches, curious. He nods at each edit, humming every few minutes. When Bill reaches the “Origins” paper, he clears his throat and begins to explain his scrawl. “I was able to trace demonic origins to a being that was here long before our world began. A cosmic dragon, if you will…”

“Not bad,” the demon states, “You know, a lot of people think demons started with Lucifer.”

“Do they really?”

“Mm-hm.” He turns back to the papers and continues to write, humming. After a total of about thirty minutes, Bill had successfully gone through the demon-themed papers and edited the entirety of them.

“Wow! Thanks for all this work. I was so off on some things…” Dipper says with a grin. “This will make things so much easier. Should we keep going?”

“I don’t see why not.”

Dipper moves on to the lycanthropy section of his notes, taking out the much smaller stack of papers. “I’m not sure if you’ll know much about this,” he begins, “But this is mostly about something I found here in Gravity Falls. It’s a river that turns people into monsters. I put it under lycanthropy, since… Well, since I wasn’t sure where else to put it.”

Bill hums and reviews the files. “Ohhh,  _ that _ river! An animal demon died there.”

“A what?” Dipper asks, quirking an eyebrow.

“An animal demon. Er- something akin to a Shapeshifter. It died there and its blood got washed in the river, so now the water’s cursed.”

“Oh,  _ fun _ ,” the brunette groans, “Well, either way, that could end badly for some people. We should get somebody to close off the paths to that river…”

“As far as I know, it just changes people into stuff like Werewolves…”

“Well, I just don’t know how to change them back to normal… And when I looked in it, I saw myself as some sort of deer-centaur thing. It’s just a little concerning.”

Bill frowns and nods, understanding. “Alright… Then take me to it. I’ll see if I can remove the curse.”

“We can do that later today. But like you said, it could be harmless. I’m paranoid, so maybe I’m worrying over nothing.”

“I’d still rather be safe than sorry,” Bill mutters.

Dipper nods and grabs the next set of papers. “This section is vampirism. It’s the section that made my classmates fear me. They thought I was one,” he laughs, his voice thinning.

“What made them think that?” the demon asks, defensive.

“Well, I’m a really pale kid from California; I barely went outside; and…” The human chuckles to himself. “I bit one of my bullies, and actually drew blood.”

“So… Being a pale introvert who used self defense?”

“Yep. I never said I came from a school of geniuses,” he laughs, rolling his eyes, “Besides, they wanted to tick me off, so they called me ‘Dracula’ until the end of junior year.”

Bill snickers. “Everyone I knew used to call me Prin-” He cuts himself off and frowns.

“You got called names, too?” Dipper sighs and leans back in his chair. “Kids suck, don’t they?”

“... It wasn’t just kids.”

“Adults, too? Good grief… I’m just glad you escaped them. That’s awful, what they did to you.”

Bill seems to curl in on himself, frowning. “... The only one who didn’t call me that was Azula.”

“Azula? Who’s that?”

“My sister.”

Dipper hums. “So Azula’s your sister… Okay. Got it.” He hums and turns back to his papers. “What do you say we stop for today? I don’t want to bring up any more painful memories for you.”

Bill frowns softly and nods. “Some other time, then.” He watches as Dipper gathers up his notes and files them away. When Dipper looks to him, he hums.

“You don’t have to help me, you know.”

“I know. I want to, though.”

Dipper shrugs. “Okay. If you say so… What do you want to do when I put this away?”

“Head down to the cursed river?”

“Sure! I’ll just grab my old sneakers and then we can head out,” the brunette says cheerily. He walks off to his room, grinning, and grabs his old shoes.

While Dipper’s away, Bill watches him go, lovestruck. He blushes and squeals to himself, quickly toeing on his own sneakers. The human returns a few moments later.

“Ready to go?” When Bill nods, he beams brightly, grabs Bill’s hand, and gently pulls him out the door, excited. He doesn’t notice the other’s blush at the contact, but the two of them start racing through the woods and down to the river. They stop on the grassy bank and catch their breath. “This is the monster river,” Dipper explains. He looks over into the water and laughs. “Look at my reflection! I’m a deer-centaur!” Sure enough, his reflection shows that his legs had been replaced by the body of a deer and antlers sprouting from his head.

Bill frowns and looks at his own reflection. He jumps back, seeing his triangular form. “Yeah… This is definitely cursed…”

“So… Should we get someone to shut the paths?”

“No, no, I can purify it. Just… Give me a few minutes.” He wades into the water with a frown, uncaring that his pants and shoes become soaked. He notices Dipper open his mouth to say something, and cuts him off before he does. “I’m already a demon, Pine Tree. What worse could happen?”

Dipper frowns, but lets the demon do his thing.

Bill removes his ring and places it into his sweatshirt pocket. He outstretches his hands, which ignite with blue flames. A brightly-glowing Cipher Wheel appears in front of him, and the river water condenses into the circle to form a giant column of water. A dark form, which appears to be dirt, forms in the center of the swirling column. Bill chants an incantation, which causes the dirt-like form to shrink as the curse is lifted. When the darkness is finally gone, the tower of water bursts, causing a downpour; Dipper and Bill, however, remain dry.

“Whoa,” Dipper breathes out, staring at the river as it starts flowing again. “That was… Really cool!”

Bill nods and smiles as he slowly makes his way up onto the dry land. He’s obviously exhausted, with the hunched-over way that he carries himself and his harsh panting.

Dipper rushes to the demon’s side and loops an arm around his waist, helping him reach level ground. “Take a rest. You look like you’re about to collapse.”

The blonde, however, shakes his head. “I’ll… I’ll be fine…” he whispers through heavy breaths.

“Please? I don’t want you straining yourself.”

He sighs and practically collapses to the ground, his muscles barely able to hold his weight. He lays on the cool grass, breathing shallowly as he begins to recover.

Dipper sits down beside him, quickly checking Bill’s vitals. He begins to brush stray strands of hair out of the demon’s face, pushing them behind his ears. After a moment, he realizes that he’s slowly exposing the hidden side of Bill’s face. The other is still passed out, but Dipper ruffles his hair and places some strands back in place.  _ It would be rude of me to look, _ he tells himself,  _ It would betray his trust. He’ll show me when he’s ready. _

After about another ten minutes, Bill mumbles something incoherent and shifts slightly. Dipper sits back to give the demon some space as the other groans and slowly opens his eye, which is bloodshot from exhaustion. He moves to sit up, the strain on his arms obvious even through his baggy sweatshirt.

“Careful,” the brunette says, moving to cradle the other, “Don’t strain yourself.”

“Have… To…”

Dipper shakes his head. “I’ll carry you back.”

“They’ll see…” Bill whispers, “Everyone will know I’m…”

“The others will be gone for a while. We can patch you up before they get back.”

The demon curls against him, exhausted. “Thank you… Pine Tree…”

“You’re welcome.” Dipper lifts him up easily and carries him back to the Mystery Shack. When they arrive, they head down to the basement and Dipper places Bill on the makeshift bed. “Now rest. You need it.”

Bill mumbles and curls into the blanket, quickly falling asleep.


End file.
